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Swift Apprentice: Beyond the Basics

Second Edition · iOS 18 · Swift 6 · Xcode 16.2

Before You Begin

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Section I: Beyond the Basics

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10. Protocol-Oriented Programming
Written by Ehab Amer

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Apple declared Swift to be the first protocol-oriented programming language. This declaration was made possible by the introduction of protocol extensions.

Although protocols have been in Swift since the beginning, Apple’s announcement and the protocol-heavy standard library changes affect how you think about your types. Extending protocols is the key to an entirely new style of programming!

In brief, protocol-oriented programming emphasizes coding to protocols instead of specific classes, structs or enums. It does this by breaking the old protocols rules and allowing you to write implementations for protocols on the protocols themselves.

This chapter introduces you to the power of protocol extensions and protocol-oriented programming. Along the way, you’ll learn how to use default implementations, type constraints, mixins and traits to simplify your code vastly.

Introducing Protocol Extensions

You’ve seen extensions in previous chapters. They let you add additional methods and computed properties to a type:

extension String {
  func shout() {
    print(uppercased())
  }
}

"Swift is pretty cool".shout()

Here, you’re extending the String type to add a new method. You can extend any type, including ones you didn’t write yourself and have any number of extensions on a type.

You can define a protocol extension using the following syntax:

protocol TeamRecord {
  var wins: Int { get }
  var losses: Int { get }
  var winningPercentage: Double { get }
}

extension TeamRecord {
  var gamesPlayed: Int {
    wins + losses
  }
}

Just as you extend a class, structure or enumeration, you use the keyword extension followed by the protocol name you are extending. Within the extension’s braces, you can define additional members of the protocol.

Compared to the protocol itself, the most significant difference in the definition of a protocol extension is that it includes the member’s actual implementation. The example above defines a new computed property named gamesPlayed that combines wins and losses and returns the total number of games played.

Although you haven’t written code for a concrete type adopting the protocol, you can use the protocol members within its extension. That’s because the compiler knows that any type conforming to TeamRecord will have all the members required by TeamRecord.

Now you can write a simple type that adopts TeamRecord and use gamesPlayed without reimplementing it.

struct BaseballRecord: TeamRecord {
  var wins: Int
  var losses: Int

  var winningPercentage: Double {
    Double(wins) / Double(wins + losses)
  }
}

let sanFranciscoSwifts = BaseballRecord(wins: 10, losses: 5)
sanFranciscoSwifts.gamesPlayed // 15

Since BaseballRecord conforms to TeamRecord, you can access gamesPlayed, defined in the protocol extension.

You can see how useful protocol extensions can be in defining “free” behavior on a protocol — but this is only the beginning. Next, you’ll learn how protocol extensions can provide implementations for members of the protocol itself.

Default Implementations

A protocol defines a contract for any type that adopts it. If a protocol defines a method or a property, any type that adopts the protocol must implement that method or property. Consider another example of a TeamRecord type:

Mini-Exercise

Write a default implementation on CustomStringConvertible that will remind you to implement description by returning Remember to implement CustomStringConvertible!.

Understanding Protocol Extension Dispatch

There’s a critical pitfall to keep in mind when defining protocol extensions. The interfaces in the formal protocol declaration are customization points that adopting types can override. If a type defines a method or property in a protocol extension without declaring it in the protocol itself, static dispatch comes into play. Static dispatch means the compiler chooses the method or property used at compile-time based on what it knows about the type. The compiler doesn’t account for dynamic runtime information.

Type Constraints

For the protocol extensions on TeamRecord, you could use members of the TeamRecord protocol, such as wins and losses, within the implementations of winningPercentage and gamesPlayed. Much like in a struct, class, or enum extension, you write code as if writing it inside the type you’re extending.

Mini-Exercise

Write a default implementation on CustomStringConvertible that will print the win/loss record in Wins - Losses format for any TeamRecord type. For instance, if a team is 10 and 5, it should return 10 - 5.

Protocol-Oriented Benefits

What exactly are the benefits of protocol-oriented programming?

Programming to Interfaces, not Implementations

By focusing on protocols instead of implementations, you can apply code contracts to any type — even those that don’t support inheritance. Suppose you were to implement TeamRecord as a base class.

Traits, Mixins and Multiple Inheritance

Speaking of supporting one-off features such as a divisional win or loss, one of the real benefits of protocols is that they allow a form of multiple inheritance.

Simplicity

When you write a computed property to calculate the winning percentage, you only need wins, losses and ties. When you write code to print a person’s full name, you only need a first and last name.

Why Swift is a Protocol-Oriented Language

You’ve learned about the capabilities of protocols and protocol extensions, but you may be wondering: What exactly does it mean that Swift is a protocol-oriented language?

Challenges

Before moving on, here are some challenges to test your knowledge of protocol-oriented programming. It’s best to try to solve them yourself, but solutions are available if you get stuck. These came with the download or are available at the printed book’s source code link listed in the introduction.

Challenge 1: Protocol Extension Practice

Suppose you own a retail store. You have food items, clothes and electronics. Begin with an Item protocol:

Challenge 2: Doubling Values

Write a protocol extension on Sequence named double() that only applies to sequences of numeric elements. Make it return an array where each element is twice the element in the sequence. Test your implementation on an array of Int and an array of Double, then see if you can try it on an array of String. Hints:

Key Points

  • Protocol extensions let you write implementation code for protocols and even write default implementations on methods required by a protocol.
  • Protocol extensions are the primary driver for protocol-oriented programming and let you write code that will work on any type that conforms to a protocol.
  • Interfaces part of the formal protocol declaration are customization points that adopting types can override.
  • Type constraints on protocol extensions provide additional context and let you write more specialized implementations.
  • You can decorate a type with traits and mixins to extend behavior without requiring inheritance.
  • Protocols, when used well, promote code reuse and encapsulation.
  • Start with value types and find the fundamental protocols.
9. Property Wrappers
11. Advanced Protocols & Generics
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